The context of the salary increase includes Ford’s selection as the new CEO for the southeast Michigan Regional Transit Authority, but it’s not clear at this point whether Ford will take the job. At the June 10 meeting Ford said, “Right now, I’m still the CEO here…”

The increase for the period from October 2012 through September 2013 raised Ford’s base salary from $164,800 to $169,744. The 3% increase on that amount through the current fiscal year brings his salary to $174,836. The board’s June 10 action authorized a lump sum payment to cover the retroactive raises up to the present time, as well as a $20,000 payment into Ford’s 457 deferred compensation plan account, which reflects payments of $10,000 cash for the fiscal year 2013 and 2014. The lump sum retroactive salary adjustment works out to a little less than $11,900.

Before this most recent increase, Ford’s most recent previous revision to his compensation had come at the board’s Dec. 15, 2011 meeting, when his salary was increased by $4,800 to $164,800 annually. Ford’s contract also includes a car allowance that translates to roughly $10,000 a year. [.pdf of June 10, 2014 compensation letter][.pdf of Ford's contract]

This current raise was awarded to Ford based on a performance evaluation the board had completed at its May 15, 2014 board meeting, which came 11 days after a successful transit millage proposal on May 6, 2014. That performance evaluation also came in the context of Ford’s application for the CEO position with the southeast Michigan Regional Transit Authority. The day after his evaluation, Ford was named as one of three finalists for the RTA job, and was subsequently made an offer of the job, which is still pending. The RTA was established by the state legislature in late 2012, and includes Detroit and the four-county region of Washtenaw, Wayne, Macomb and Oakland.

Commenting on his current status at the AAATA board’s June 10 meeting, Ford said: “Right now I am still the CEO here and I’m not having any other discussions at this point with the RTA and that’s my status. I’ll leave it at that.” Board chair Charles Griffith added that Ford has not ruled out the RTA job, saying that the AAATA board would obviously prefer that Ford stay at the AAATA. But if Ford chose to go elsewhere, the board would support that decision. Ford had also assured Griffith that the AAATA would be in good hands and would have a stable transition if Ford were to leave.

Ford’s evaluation was expressed in the form of a board resolution approved on May 15:

Whereas the AAATA board’s evaluation of CEO Michael Ford’s performance reflects his leadership, work ethic, and ability to motivate staff to work at a high level of public service during a challenging period of transitioning the AAATA;

Whereas Michael’s outreach to community leaders in Ann Arbor and surrounding communities has laid the foundation for the expansion of the authority to include Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Township and for the newly expanded organization to do an improved job of providing high-quality transit services;

Whereas Michael has led the organization to a number of significant accomplishments during the previous and current fiscal years, including: continued growth in overall ridership; growth in the vanpool program; growth in AirRide ridership and a decrease in the cost of the service; a new collective bargaining agreement ratified by the members of the TW Local 171 and approved by our Board of Directors; launch of a new AAATA website with improved rider information, navigation and tools; construction of a new Blake Transit Center; development of a new five-year urban core transportation improvement plan and a successful millage proposal;

Therefore be it resolved that the AAATA Board of Directors recognizes Michael Ford’s performance and accomplishments and desires to continue his employment as CEO, and the board looks forward to working with Michael on a new contract to continue his employment and also working with him to improve transit services in our community. Our intent is to complete this contract the time of our next meeting.

This brief was filed from the Holiday Inn Express at 600 Briarwood Circle, where the board held its special meeting.

AAATA CEO Michael Ford spoke with Carolyn Grawi, Ann Arbor Center for Independent Living director for advocacy and education, after the May 15, 2014 meeting of the AAATA board.

The four-county area of the RTA includes the counties of Washtenaw, Wayne, Macomb and Oakland as well as the city of Detroit. It was established by the Michigan legislature in late 2012.

The RTA’s hiring of a CEO has been frustrated by a lack of state funding. John Hertel, general manager of SMART (Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation), was appointed CEO by the RTA board last year, but he eventually left the post in early 2014 because no funding was available for his salary.

Crain’s Detroit Business reported the Friday, May 16 vote by the RTA’s executive and policy committee to recommend Ford as well as two other finalists for the job.

The two other finalists are:

• Albert Martin, former director of the Detroit Dept. of Transportation and the Southeast Michigan Transportation Authority (the forerunner to SMART) bus systems, and a former deputy commissioner of the Connecticut Dept. of Transportation.
• Brian Marshall, a transit consultant and former CEO of the Capital Area Transit System in Baton Rouge, La., who also spent 20 years with the Chicago Transit Authority.

Crain’s reports that the three candidates will be interviewed by the whole RTA board starting at noon on Wednesday, May 21. The interviews will be open to the public and held at the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG) office at 1001 Woodward in Detroit. Washtenaw County’s two representatives on the RTA board are Liz Gerber, a University of Michigan professor of public policy, and former state legislator Alma Wheeler Smith.

In 2016, the RTA will likely be asking voters in the four-county area for approval of a property tax or a vehicle registration fee to support regional transportation services.

Ford’s selection as a finalist comes a little over a week after voters in Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Township passed a new 0.7 mill tax for the AAATA with clear majority support.

His selection also comes the day after the AAATA board held a closed session to conduct his regular performance review, as part of the May 15 board meeting. The review should have been completed around the start of the fiscal year in October or November of 2013. Ford was invited into the closed session for roughly the final 20 minutes of the session. When the board emerged from its closed session, which lasted about an hour and ten minutes, AAATA board chair Charles Griffith apologized to Ford for the delay in conducting his performance evaluation.

After its closed session, the board also approved a resolution with a glowing performance evaluation of Ford, indicating that the board wanted Ford to continue as CEO and that it hoped to have a new contract in place by the board’s next regular monthly meeting.

Whereas the AAATA board’s evaluation of CEO Michael Ford’s performance reflects his leadership, work ethic, and ability to motivate staff to work at a high level of public service during a challenging period of transitioning the AAATA;

Whereas Michael’s outreach to community leaders in Ann Arbor and surrounding communities has laid the foundation for the expansion of the authority to include Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Township and for the newly expanded organization to do an improved job of providing high-quality transit services;

Whereas Michael has led the organization to a number of significant accomplishments during the previous and current fiscal years, including: continued growth in overall ridership; growth in the vanpool program; growth in AirRide ridership and a decrease in the cost of the service; a new collective bargaining agreement ratified by the members of the TW Local 171 and approved by our Board of Directors; launch of a new AAATA website with improved rider information, navigation and tools; construction of a new Blake Transit Center; development of a new five-year urban core transportation improvement plan and a successful millage proposal;

Therefore be it resolved that the AAATA Board of Directors recognizes Michael Ford’s performance and accomplishments and desires to continue his employment as CEO, and the board looks forward to working with Michael on a new contract to continue his employment and also working with him to improve transit services in our community. Our intent is to complete this contract the time of our next meeting.

Reached by telephone on Friday afternoon, Ford told The Chronicle he’d just been notified of his selection as a finalist for the RTA job five minutes earlier. Responding to a question from The Chronicle, he said he’d apprised the board of his application for the RTA job and that was part of the closed session discussion. He stressed that he did not have the RTA job, that he enjoyed the work he was doing with the AAATA, and was very happy about what the AAATA had been able to accomplish. He noted that July 2014 will mark five years for him with the AAATA.

Before Ford was hired in 2009, one concern that some board members had was that his interview answers weren’t crisp. Asked by The Chronicle if he’d tried to become more “crisp” in the course of his time at the AAATA, Ford responded: “You have to be true to yourself,” adding that he felt there were times when being more direct was appropriate and that each situation needs to be navigated based on the particular setting.

Ford’s current contract with the AAATA calls for $160,000 in annual salary and a vehicle allowance that works out to just over $10,000 a year. [.pdf of Ford's employment contract] [Ford was awarded a raise subsequent to that contract at the board's Dec. 15, 2011 meeting, bringing his annual salary to $164,800.]

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However, Murphy is not seeking re-appointment to the seat – a point that was included in CEO Michael Ford’s report to the board of the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority at its Nov. 21, 2013 meeting.

The RTA was established in a lame duck session of the Michigan legislature in late 2012, and includes a four-county region – Macomb, Oakland, Washtenaw and Wayne – with each county making two appointments to the board, and the city of Detroit making one. In Washtenaw County, the appointments are made by the chair of the county board of commissioners. Last year, outgoing board chair Conan Smith chose to exercise that privilege before the year was out, and appointed Murphy to the post on Dec. 31, 2012. Murphy is an employee of the Michigan Suburbs Alliance, a nonprofit for which Smith is the executive director.

The Washtenaw County board’s leadership has now changed, and it is Yousef Rabhi who will make the appointment to replace Murphy. Responding to an emailed query from The Chronicle, Rabhi indicated that the RTA board appointment will be made using the same process that’s used for all appointments made to various boards, committees and commissions. Those appointments are expected to be made at the board’s Dec. 4, 2013 meeting along with the appointment to the RTA board.

On Nov. 21 the county board held an appointments caucus, which The Chronicle attended, to discuss appointments for all openings. However, out of the nine commissioners, only Conan Smith and Yousef Rabhi attended. They did not discuss the RTA appointment, and no formal applications to the RTA were included in the 116-page packet of application materials from candidates for other boards, commissions and committees.

The original application deadline had been Oct. 31, but it was extended to allow more time for people to apply. Responding to an emailed query from The Chronicle, Murphy indicated that his decision not to seek reappointment was based on the arrival of new twins and the additional demands that placed on his time. However, he also indicated a willingness to continue to make himself available as a resource: “I’ve told Yousef and Liz [Gerber] that I’m happy to continue to be an advisory, ‘subject matter expert’ resource to them and my replacement, but life happenings jumped up and interfered with plans of the full-on board role.”

Liz Gerber, a professor at the University of Michigan Ford School of Public Policy, was the second appointment to the RTA board made last year. Her term was for three years. The RTA has spent its initial several months with the administrative and organizational issues associated with the establishment of a new entity.

In addition to the RTA, deadlines were extended until Dec. 1 for applications to two other county groups: the Washtenaw County historic district commission, and the Washtenaw County food policy council. More information about these positions is posted on the county’s website.

Fire hydrant at the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority headquarters at 2700 S. Industrial Highway, which needs to be moved as a result of a garage expansion project. (Photos by the writer.)

The possibility of the special meeting was indicated at the AAATA’s June 20, 2013 board meeting, when CEO Michael Ford mentioned that a special session might be called to handle some routine matters – as well as issues related to the addition of the city of Ypsilanti as a member of the AAATA.

Those related issues could have included a vote to place a question on the November 2013 ballot, asking voters in the cities of Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor to approve a transit millage to be levied by the AAATA. However, at the July 23 special meeting, Ford pointed toward a May election as more likely: “Obviously we’re going to be looking for a millage at some point in the near future. November was one opportunity, but I don’t think that’s probably going to happen,” Ford told the board. “I think we’re probably looking at May, to be realistic. We’re gearing up for some potential there.”

The two cities currently levy millages that are dedicated to transit, which are then passed through to the AAATA. The ability for the renamed AAATA to levy such a millage with voter approval was a power also enjoyed by the AATA, but was never exercised. The request for additional funding – through a levy by the AAATA – is based on an AAATA plan to increase and expand service in the two cities and through establishing longer-term purchase-of-service agreements with some adjoining townships.

The authorization of a $109,000 contract with Blaze Contracting to relocate the fire hydrant was the second time the board has authorized such a contract. Last year, the board approved a deal with RBV Contracting for the work. However, the contract was not awarded, because the necessary agreements with the University of Michigan, which owns adjoining land involved in the hydrant relocation, were not in place.

The board’s action to approve the Select Ride contract – which is valued at $3,016,871 for the coming year – came under time pressure to ensure that the AAATA could continue its paratransit service. The provision of complementary paratransit service for people with disabilities – as an alternative to the fixed-route service – is a requirement of the Federal Transit Administration under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Under the negotiated terms, the third year of Select Ride’s contract includes a one-time “stabilization payment” to Select Ride of $100,000 to be paid by July 31, 2013. The contract also includes a 5% ($150,000) increase for this final year of the contract. The staff memo in the board’s information packet attributed the increases to the rising consumer price index (CPI) and to fuel costs.

The state’s local bus operating (LBO) assistance – money from Act 51 that’s allocated to transportation agencies statewide using a complex formula – was a topic that arose during the July 23 special meeting in two ways. As a result of state legislative action, the AAATA now expects $800,000 of previous decreased funding from the state’s LBO to be restored. When the Michigan Dept. of Transportation applied the distribution formula last year, it resulted in about $800,000 less funding to the AAATA – and that had an impact on the AAATA’s FY 2013 budget. The agency is currently operating on slightly less than the 3-month cash reserve required under board policy. At the July 23 meeting, it was reported that a bank transfer of $500,000 had taken place, with the remaining amount expected later.

The LBO is also a source of funding that the southeast Michigan regional transit authority (RTA) would like to use to cover administrative expenses. The RTA was created in late 2012 through a lame-duck legislative action. The RTA is supposed to coordinate transit in a four-county region (Washtenaw, Wayne, Macomb and Oakland) that includes the city of Detroit. AAATA board members expressed some disappointment during their July 23 meeting that Gov. Rick Snyder and the state legislature had created the RTA without providing for adequate initial funding. The RTA could eventual obtain voter-approved funding through a millage or a vehicle registration fee.

AAATA board members objected to the fact that LBO money was being used for the administrative overhead of the newly created RTA, instead of being used to provide transportation “on the street” by the transit agencies in the four-county region. Those include DDOT (Detroit Dept. of Transportation) and the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART). The negative impact on the AAATA for the next year of funding for the RTA – using the state’s LBO assistance – is estimated at about $68,000.

Select Ride Contract

The board was asked to approve a third and final year of a contract with Select Ride – to provide complementary paratransit service for the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority. The contract is valued at $3,016,871. Select Ride is a private taxicab company.

Select Ride Contract: Background

The negotiations for terms of an extension to a third year of Select Ride’s contract included a one-time “stabilization payment” to Select Ride of $100,000 to be paid by July 31, 2013. The contract also includes a 5% ($150,000) increase for this final year of the contract. The staff memo in the board’s information packet attributed the increases to the rising consumer price index (CPI) and to fuel costs.

The provision of complementary paratransit service for people with disabilities – as an alternative to the fixed-route service – is a requirement of the Federal Transit Administration under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Public transportation agencies must provide special service to those with disabilities that is “comparable to the level of service provided to individuals without disabilities who use the fixed route system.”

The paratransit service is required to be offered within a corridor 3/4 mile on either side of a fixed bus route. Comparable service is defined as a demand-response service from door to destination, in which the public transit agency schedules and provides paratransit service to an eligible person for a request made the previous day. The fare that can be charged for the paratransit service can’t be more than twice what the fare would be for a similar trip taken on the fixed-route system. [.pdf of Federal Transit Administration Section 7 of Title 49 on "Transportation Services for Individuals with Disabilities"]

The AAATA fulfills its obligation under the ADA through its A-Ride program. In addition to trips that can be arranged at least one day in advance for a $3 fare [which is twice the $1.50 full fare for regular fixed-route rides], same-day trips can be arranged through A-Ride for a $4 fare. The higher fare can be charged for those trips, because they are not being offered under the ADA requirement. Some holders of A-Ride passes – who have the right to reserve rides for $3 under the A-Ride program – might also be physically able to ride the AAATA regular fixed-route system. If they opt to ride the fixed-route system, the A-Ride program allows them to do that without paying a fare.

Allowing A-Ride eligible passengers to ride the fixed-route service for free, compared to the $3-4 charge for paratransit, works out better for the AAATA financially. Based on the AAATA’s financial reports through the first three quarters of the fiscal year, which ends on Sept. 30, the cost per passenger for the fixed-route system is about 1/7 of the cost per passenger for the A-Ride service – $3.35 compared to $23.46. Fares don’t cover the total cost of rides for any of the services offered by AAATA – with the difference made up by local tax, state and federal funding. Per passenger, the AAATA uses $6.94 in local tax for paratransit compared to $1.23 per passenger for the fixed-route service. [.pdf of AAATA third quarter financial report]

According to AAATA manager of service development Chris White, the Canton and Chelsea commuter service and the AirRide service to the airport are “interurban express services” and do not fall under the ADA requirements.

According to AAATA controller Phil Webb, the total value of the Select Ride contract was estimated based on 37,728 passenger trips on lift-equipped vans (accessible service) and 79,716 passenger trips in taxicabs, along with a monthly fixed fee. Fares are collected by Select Ride, and Select Ride subtracts that amount from the total revenue it is provided under the contract. Passenger fares are projected to be about $405,000 – so the total amount paid to Select Ride by the AAATA will be about $2,612,000. That yields a total value of the contract of about $3,017,000.

The AAATA tracks passenger complaints it receives about subcontracted service providers like Select Ride separately from complaints about the fixed-route service. For the three-month period of April-June 2013, 76 of the 93 complaints found to be valid by the AAATA arose out of rides taken on subcontracted services. Those include A-Ride (Select Ride), NightRide (Blue Cab) and AirRide (Michigan Flyer).

According to the staff memo accompanying the board’s resolution, higher service standards are included in the final year of Select Ride’s contract, with financial consequences for non-compliance. The memo also indicates that the new RFP (request for proposals) for A-Ride service will include “an alternative service delivery model” that will allow the AAATA to exercise greater performance oversight and cost control.

Select Ride Contract: Public Commentary

Carolyn Grawi of the Ann Arbor Center for Independent Living addressed the board at the start of the meeting during the time allotted for public commentary. She addressed the agenda item on paratransit services. First, she wanted to see the AAATA support the current service as it is, saying that it’s important to make sure that the service is not interrupted  in any way. If there are hiccups in the system, then it’s important to make sure that those hiccups are smoothed out, she said.

And second, Grawi continued, as the AAATA thinks about how to expand service beyond the city of Ann Arbor – in the context of the “urban core” discussions – she did not think that expansion should be undertaken at the risk of losing or altering how paratransit services are currently provided. So as the AAATA considers expanding service into areas that currently do not have any service, she cautioned, this would be an important point of conversation – namely, how to meet the needs of paratransit riders.

During public commentary time at the end of the meeting, Grawi expressed concern about the extension of the paratransit service throughout the entire area of the southeast Michigan regional transit authority (RTA). She pointed out that the location of the RTA board meetings are not accessible to members of the community who would like to attend them – not just for people with disabilities, but for anybody who doesn’t have access to a vehicle.

Also during public comment time at the end of the meeting, after the vote on the Select Ride contract was taken, Thomas Partridge called into question the urgency of extending the Select Ride contract. It’s one of the most important topics on the annual agenda of the AAATA board, he said. It should not have been approved without better notice to the public, he contended, or without a public hearing on the issue. He accused Select Ride of taking advantage of vulnerable users of the transit system. He complained about a lack of an adequate number of vehicles to provide the paratransit service citywide. He referred to suspicious manipulation of schedules for pickup times and routing.

As Partridge’s two-minute time period expired, Charles Griffith – who was presiding over the meeting as chair of the board – thanked Partridge for his remarks. Partridge asked for an extension of one minute. Griffith asked Partridge to try to wrap up in less than a minute. Partridge continued by telling the board that the AAATA needed to take a more universal, integrated approach to protecting the most vulnerable users of the buses and the A-Ride program.

Partridge called for more flexibility. He said that no A-Ride cardholder should go without a ride, even if that user made a mistake in reserving a ride or has a health need that required a shorter pickup time. He accused the reservation takers for the program of being rude. Griffith told Partridge that he felt the board had gotten his point, and Partridge concluded his remarks with a thank-you.

Select Ride Contract: Board Deliberations

During his initial remarks to the board during the time on the agenda allotted for his communications, AAATA CEO Michael Ford indicated that he would be asking the board for its support for the Select Ride contract. Already at that point in the meeting, Ford said he wanted to acknowledge that the process should have been started sooner, saying “it should have gone through a committee process, and it did not.” However, Ford stressed that it was important that the paratransit service not be interrupted. About the process that was followed, Ford said, “There are some internal things that we need to work on.”

The AAATA board’s special meeting was held at the headquarters building at 2700 S. Industrial Highway. Clockwise starting at the head of the table: Charles Griffith, Michael Ford, Susan Baskett, Eli Cooper, Gillian Ream, Eric Mahler, Sue Gott, Roger Kerson, and Anya Dale.

A bit later during the meeting, during Ford’s remarks about the draft work plan for the coming year, Ford noted that the third and final year of the Select Ride contract included some additional performance indicators and metrics that he called “long overdue.” As the AAATA looked at delivering paratransit services for the elderly and the disability community in the future, Ford felt there were some opportunities to establish better accountability and control. As an example, Ford gave the possibility of scheduling rides in-house by the AAATA. A request for proposals (RFP) for the paratransit service for the following year would be issued soon, which would reflect some changes and some major improvements in how paratransit service would be delivered in the future, Ford concluded.

When the board reached the Select Ride contract on the agenda, Ford introduced the item, noting that there were two different parts – the stabilization payment of $100,000 and a negotiated contract increase for 2014 of 5%. He pointed out that the rationale for the increase was included in the memo that had been provided to the board. It was a rationale based on increases in the consumer price index (CPI) and the gasoline index. The contract also included increased performance standards, Ford noted.

Ford reiterated how a new request for proposals (RFP) would be issued in the first quarter of the year, saying that the AAATA would be looking at different ways to operate the complementary paratransit service – to give itself more flexibility than it has had in the past. Ford asked the board for its support to move the final year of Select Ride’s contract forward. He recognized that the process had involved some hiccups, reiterating the fact that the contract should have been reviewed by a board committee first – before coming before the whole board. “There are some areas that we just need to bone up on internally,” Ford said.

But Ford stressed it was important that the paratransit service was not interrupted and that the AAATA was able to provide that necessary service. As a result of this situation, Ford continued, it was recognized that the AAATA needs to have contingency plans in place [in the event that a contractor is unable or unwilling to continue a contract]. He asked the board again for its support for this particular contract and indicated that the staff would work diligently on these types of issues going forward.

Roger Kerson asked for clarification about the three years of the contract: Was the AAATA obligated to renew the third year of the contract? He asked why the contract needed to be changed at all. Ford clarified that it was the third year of the contract – the second extension of a one-year contract that had a provision for two extensions.

Kerson noted that the inflationary increase was 2.3%, but he calculated that overall Select Ride was getting an 8% increase in the contract. So Select Ride was getting more of an increase than the increasing costs would justify, Kerson indicated. He asked if Select Ride had contended that they could not continue to provide the service unless there was an increase. Ford indicated that this was part of the issue. Continuity of service was important, Ford said. It’s not an ideal situation to be in, he allowed. Ford indicated that he felt action should have been taken earlier to address the situation within a 120-day window.

Ford explained that staff had considered the option of bringing the complementary paratransit service in-house. Accomplishing that within a two-week time frame, he said, was going to be a problem. Extending the contract under the terms proposed was something that Ford characterized as the “next-best solution.” The AAATA would be able to keep the continuity of the service intact, he said, and would also learn from the experience – so that in the future there would be more flexibility and more control.

Kerson wondered how the AAATA could even provide the service in-house. Ford indicated that some of the service is provided with vans, and some of the service is provided with cabs. Ford felt that the AAATA could, in any case, provide the scheduling of the service. Scheduling of the service is where potential efficiencies of the operation reside, Ford explained.

Eli Cooper linked the conversation back to a discussion that happened earlier in the meeting – about the state of Michigan restoring some lost revenue from the local bus operating (LBO) subsidy and the AAATA’s three-month operating cash reserve. Cooper asked how the $150,000 increase in the contract would affect the overall financial picture. AAATA controller Phil Webb indicated that the $150,000 cost would be incurred in the next fiscal year, FY 2014. That year’s budget, which the staff is currently preparing, looks like it’s going to be balanced, Webb said. So he characterized the Select Ride contract as “not a major drawback to our budget.”

Webb indicated that if the state of Michigan restores the remaining 25% of previously lost LBO funding, as the AAATA expects – in addition to the $500,000 in restored funding that the AAATA had already received – then the three-month operating cash reserve could be maintained, while accommodating the Select Ride contract.

With that assurance from Webb, Cooper indicated his willingness to go forward supporting the Select Ride contract. Cooper called agreeing to the contract very difficult, but encouraged his board colleagues not to lose sight of the fact that at the end of all of the conversation are people – who desperately need transportation services. Board chair Charles Griffith also indicated support for approving the contract. He trusted that the staff had done their best to negotiate the best deal possible with Select Ride.

Outcome: The board voted unanimously to authorize the contract with Select Ride.

Fire Hydrant Relocation

The board was asked to authorize a $109,000 contract with Blaze Contracting to relocate a fire hydrant.

In the same resolution, a previous authorization to award a contract with RBV Contracting was rescinded. That earlier authorization had been approved by the board at a meeting a year ago, on July 16, 2012. The board’s July 23, 2013 resolution included an amount of $35,000 to cover city of Ann Arbor permits, physical testing and additional oversight – to be provided by Spence Brothers (AAATA’s construction manager).

The reason the fire hydrant has not already been moved by RVC Contracting is described in minutes of the AAATA’s planning and development committee meeting, held on July 9, 2013. The minutes state that the lag is “due to delays in obtaining an easement agreement and a change in the scope of the project before a contract was ever awarded for the work.”

The city of Ann Arbor is requiring that the hydrant be moved – as part of the AAATA’s bus garage expansion project. In its new location, the hydrant will connect to the adjacent property, owned by the University of Michigan, creating a continuous loop for the fire hydrant system.

Minutes of the AAATA’s planning and development committee, which reviewed the fire hydrant contract, indicate that board member Sue Gott abstained from the vote because the issue involved negotiations with the University of Michigan, which is her employer.

At the July 23 meeting of the full board, CEO Michael Ford summarized the background of the proposal. Gott abstained from the vote, because it involved a transaction between the city and the University of Michigan. Gott is the university’s chief planner. With no further discussion, the matter moved to a vote.

Outcome: The board voted to approve the contract to relocate the fire hydrant. Sue Gott abstained.

Broader Geography

In non-voting items of communication, the increase and expansion of transportation service inside and outside the city of Ann Arbor boundaries was highlighted in conversation about: (1) the “urban core” initiative, which includes the addition of the city of Ypsilanti as a member of the newly renamed Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority; and (2) the initial funding mechanisms for administrative overhead of a four-county southeast Michigan regional transit authority (RTA), created in late 2012 as part of lame-duck action taken by the state legislature.

Broader Geography: Ypsilanti, Urban Core

By way of general background, on June 20, 2013 the board of the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority voted to revise its articles of incorporation to add the city of Ypsilanti as a member, and to expand the board from seven to nine members – one of which is appointed by the city of Ypsilanti.

The geographic footprint of the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority is shown in green: the two cities of Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor. The city of Saline and the townships of Pittsfield and Ypsilanti have also been part of recent active discussions about committing to a more stable funding mechanism for existing service and expanded service.

The city councils of the two cities had already approved the change before the AATA board took its vote. The Ann Arbor city council voted on June 3, 2013 to approve the change in governance, while the Ypsilanti city council took its vote on June 18. Both councils voted unanimously to support the move. [.pdf of new AAATA articles of incorporation] [.pdf of old AATA articles of incorporation]

Board chair Charles Griffith opened the July 23, 2013 special meeting by welcoming Gillian Ream to the board table. Ream, who is communications and development director at the Ypsilanti District Library, was appointed as the city of Ypsilanti’s representative to the AAATA. But the paperwork has not all been filed to make her an official board member.

Griffith put it this way: “And I’d like to welcome our newest almost board member. We are signing the papers right now – and apparently they have to be filed before you are an official, sitting, voting board member. We’re happy to have you here today and welcome you to the board, and soon in a voting capacity.” Griffith said that he hoped the board up to now already had been representing the interests of the city of Ypsilanti, noting that Ypsilanti had historically been a great partner with the AAATA.

Michael Ford, the AAATA’s CEO, also welcomed Ream to the board during his remarks near the start of the meeting. He described the city of Ypsilanti as having always been a good partner with the AATA. Regarding information and orientation, Ford stressed that the organization is there to support Ream in any way possible.

While the change to the articles of incorporation has affected the governance of the AAATA, the goal of the governance change is to provide a way to generate additional funding for transportation. The AAATA could, with voter approval, levy a uniform property tax on the entire geographic area of its membership – a power also enjoyed but never exercised by the AATA. The cities of Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti now levy their own dedicated transit millages, which are transmitted to the AAATA. However, Ypsilanti is currently at its 20-mill state constitutional limit. A millage levied by the AAATA would not count against that 20-mill cap.

Current discussions are based on the idea of increasing levels of service – both frequency and the hours of operation – within the Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti city boundaries as well as in the adjoining townships of Pittsfield and Ypsilanti and the city of Saline. The additional amount of local funding for the planned increases in service would be the equivalent of around 0.6-0.7 mills. One mill is $1 for every $1,000 of a property’s taxable value.

An AAATA millage proposal would require voter approval. Going into the special meeting called for July 23, there was an outside chance the board could have voted to place a question on the November 2013 ballot. The deadline for making such a decision is late August. [Ballot language must be certified to the county clerk by Aug. 27, 2013.] The practicalities of mounting a successful millage campaign pointed toward not asking voters for a millage this fall, however.

At the July 23 special meeting – in the context of discussing various research and development initiatives on the AAATA’s work plan – Ford indicated it would be unlikely that a question would be put to voters this fall: “Obviously we’re going to be looking for a millage at some point in the near future. November was one opportunity but I don’t think that’s probably going to happen. I think we’re probably looking at May, to be realistic. We’re gearing up for some potential there.”

The decision to include Ypsilanti in the AAATA came in the context of an unsuccessful attempt in 2012 to expand the AATA to all of Washtenaw County. Since then, conversations have continued among a smaller cluster of communities geographically closer to Ann Arbor – the so-called “urban core” communities.  [Previous Chronicle coverage: "Ypsi Waits at Bus Stop, Other Riders Unclear."]

During public commentary at the end of the meeting, Vivienne Armentrout addressed the board on the topic of the initiative to increase transportation services. She thanked the board for voting to make the city of Ypsilanti a member of the AAATA. But she characterized it as happening “a little fast.” Still, she reported that everyone she’d talked to had said that the move made a lot of sense.

One of the questions that taxpayers like her, who pay the transit millage, would be asking as the AAATA seeks to expand services is:  How will the purchase of service agreements (POSAs) with the townships be calculated and what expenses are folded into the charge? She did not think that most people would say it’s fair for Ann Arbor to subsidize wealthier communities with a discount rate. So she hoped those calculations would be fully fleshed out in any proposal.

By way of additional background on the equity issue, at an April 24, 2013 meeting of urban core partners, various ways of analyzing equity were presented:

On different methods of allocating costs, different municipalities would get more or less transit service for each transit dollar. In this presentation, a positive bar reflects more than $1 worth of transportation service for each $1 paid. A negative bar reflects less than $1 worth of transportation service for each $1 paid. For example, on the “resident benefit approach” on the far right, the “donor” municipalities would be Ann Arbor (light blue) and Pittsfield Township (salmon). On that approach, the municipalities receiving the “donation” would be the city of Ypsilanti (blue), Ypsilanti Township (red), and Saline (black).  (Numbers from AATA. Chart by The Chronicle.)

Jim Mogensen addressed the topic of the expanded local geographic footprint as well as the four-county regional transit authority – from the perspective of Title VI compliance. He briefly described Title VI as part of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964. The act requires that federal funding comes with some constraints, which prohibits differential impacts to transit service with respect to race. Mogensen said he was pleased to see that Title VI was now in the work plan for the AAATA. But he cautioned that the timeline should be accelerated.

Mogensen said he believed that the hourly headways on the Ypsilanti local routes are a problem with regard to the possibility of disparate impacts. He felt that the AAATA would need to look at that issue for the purpose of entering into long-term purchase of service agreements (POSAs) and also for having a plan going forward with the RTA. He felt that all of the solutions to the Title VI issues should be in place before the RTA moves forward. “This is the time to think through that kind of stuff,” he said. Even if the formula is baked into the POSAs, he said, the AAATA is still responsible for compliance. It could cause a lot of trouble, he cautioned.

With respect to the RTA, Mogensen cautioned that the AAATA could find itself as the “Ypsilanti of the RTA.” Ann Arbor, for reasons that makes sense, he said, has driven the policy of the AAATA. The tables may now be turned, and other actors in the transit world may move policy at the level of the RTA. That needs to be kept in mind, Mogensen concluded.

Broader Geography: Ypsilanti, Urban Core

During his report to the board, CEO Michael Ford described a proposed master agreement between the regional transit authority and the AAATA as arising out of a memorandum of understanding (MOU). The RTA had also asked the AAATA to identify its top five priorities for projects to work on from a regional perspective, Ford said.

Included in the board’s information packet was a draft response to the RTA’s request – which a staff memo stated “would not be set in stone.” [.pdf of draft AAATA's top five priorities for RTA] The AAATA identified three top priorities for the AAATA’s regional interests:

1. Improved and expanded transit options within Washtenaw County, particularly in the “Urban Core” of Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti.
2. Cross‐regional interconnectivity: Transit and paratransit connections between Ann Arbor/Washtenaw County from Detroit Metro Area, particularly from western Wayne, into Ann Arbor area. The current challenge is that “you can’t get there from here.”
3. Transit options from Livingston County into Ann Arbor area.

The draft includes three cross-regional priorities for the AAATA.

1. ExpressRide between Canton and Ann Arbor (within 1 year).
2. Other cross‐regional connectivity to Western Wayne and Detroit:
   a. Connections to SMART
   b. Ann Arbor to Detroit Rail
   c. AirRide
   d. Paratransit
   e. Fare media
3. Funding/development for transit technology improvements (e.g. Transit Signal Priority).

Ford asked that the board provide any additional feedback on the RTA document.

Local bus operating funding factored prominently in the board’s discussion of the RTA. By way of additional background, the state’s local bus operating (LBO) assistance is money from Act 51 that’s allocated to transportation agencies statewide using a complex formula. When the Michigan Dept. of Transportation applied the distribution formula last year, it resulted in about $800,000 less funding to the AAATA – and that had an impact on the AAATA’s FY 2013 budget. The agency is currently operating on slightly less than the 3-month cash reserve required under board policy. As a result of subsequent state legislative action, the AAATA now expects $800,000 of lost funding from the state’s LBO to be restored. At the July 23 meeting, it was reported that a bank transfer of $500,000 had taken place, with the remaining amount expected later.

The comprehensive transportation fund, from which the LBO is taken, is also the source of funding that’s initially being used by the southeast Michigan regional transit authority (RTA), which was created in late 2012 through a lame-duck legislative action. The RTA is supposed to coordinate transit in a four-county region (Washtenaw, Wayne, Macomb and Oakland) that includes the city of Detroit.

AAATA board members expressed some disappointment during their July 23 meeting that Gov. Rick Snyder and the state legislature had created the RTA without providing for adequate initial funding. The RTA could eventual obtain voter-approved funding through a millage or a vehicle registration fee.

Roger Kerson brought up the issue of the RTA’s funding mechanism – the state’s local bus operating assistance (LBO). He confirmed with Ford that the RTA’s intent was to use LBO money that would equate to a negative impact on the AAATA of about $68,000 a year. Ford indicated that the initial amount that the RTA had considered was 2% of the total state LBO assistance and had decided to reduce it to 1%. That translated into an AAATA share of about $68,000.

Sarah Pressprich-Gryniewicz, who’s AAATA community relations coordinator for the office of the CEO, reported that during the RTA’s transit providers advisory committee meeting, which had been held earlier that day, it was discussed that the RTA board was trying to reduce that amount even further so that no more than $68,000 would be required – with a contingency of around 10%. Kerson asked if that amount was something that Ford felt could be accommodated within the AAATA’s budget. Ford indicated that it could be. Kerson got clarification that the kind of contingency that was being discussed meant that the RTA could not ask for $68,000 and then come back and ask for $168,000. The RTA might be able to come back and asked for $70,000.

Kerson pointed out that SMART and DDOT would also have to “kick in” their share as well. About the idea of the RTA using LBO money, Eli Cooper indicated agreement with earlier statements that “this is and feels wrong.” It’s a newly created transit agency to serve the region, he said, and the legislature and administration that created it should have provided adequate means of funding from state resources.

Cooper said he recalled reading a while ago about several hundred million dollars of surplus at the state level. Cooper said: “This 1%, or $68,000, is a hit on the service that we deliver on the street. We, as an authority, have struggled mightily over the course of years, if not decades … in trying to maintain our administrative overhead and to provide service to the street. This is starting off on the wrong foot – reaching directly into the fund that supports and sustains operating hours on the street for an overhead entity whose responsibility is to coordinate the service.”

As one of the transit authorities within the RTA region, AAATA should give notice to state legislative representatives that this approach is just taking away the ability to deliver services that the AAATA has struggled to provide and maintain, Cooper said. Those who created the RTA should find the resources in order to enable the AAATA to be even more efficient and more effective in providing mobility that will be “the grease for our economic machine within this entire region,” he said.

Charles Griffith reported that he’d had a conversation with one of Washtenaw County’s RTA board members and with others about the alternatives for resolving the funding issue. He said he was aware of some “plans afoot to find another source of funds.” He called it a bit complicated in terms of other legislation that would need to pass in Lansing, but he thought it was quite possible that it could happen this summer.

Griffith said he worried about the issue for the sake of the AAATA, but he also noted that the transportation agencies in the Detroit area are hurting even more. To take away from their operating budgets is not the preferred option, Griffith said. He ventured that it might be appropriate for the AAATA board to pass some kind of a resolution to encourage its RTA board members to “hold out on this.” Griffith felt that other legislative remedies should be tried first before the Washtenaw County RTA board representatives should agree to take money out of the AAATA’s operating budget.

Mary Stasiak, community relations director for the AAATA, reported that the RTA board had not actually identified any other source of funding yet. Bill De Groot, the AAATA’s financial analyst and planner, provided background for the RTA’s current funding, which is an appropriation of $500,000 – $250,000 of which was in the original legislation that had created the RTA. The Michigan Dept. of Transportation had matched that $250,000. That amount of funding was expected to be exhausted sometime in December 2013 or February 2014, depending on how quickly the RTA hires staff and relocates its offices from the SEMCOG location, De Groot said.

Kerson noted that the RTA is allowed to take this money under the enabling legislation but that the AAATA can tell the RTA that it’s a bad idea. De Groot told Kerson that it’s not called out specifically in the legislation – but because the RTA is in fact a transit agency, that source of funding is available to the RTA as a transit agency.

By way of background, the enabling legislation provides $250,000 for the initial year of administration for the RTA – from the comprehensive transportation fund, from which LBO is allocated. But thereafter the enabling legislation doesn’t indicate additional funding:

124.558 Appropriation. Sec. 18. There is appropriated to each authority created under this act the sum of $250,000.00 from the comprehensive transportation fund created in section 10b of 1951 PA 51, MCL 247.660b, to begin implementing the requirements of this act. Any portion of this amount under this section that is not expended in the 2012-2013 state fiscal year shall not lapse to the general fund but shall be carried forward in a work project account that is in compliance with section 451a of the management and budget act, 1984 PA 431, MCL 18.1451a.

Griffith indicated that Washtenaw County’s RTA board members have a duty both to the Washtenaw County community and to the new entity. He’d heard a slightly different story from the one that De Groot had reported about how long the existing funding might last. Griffith said he was under the impression it would last the RTA through a good part of next year. So he felt there was perhaps a little more breathing room – in terms of identifying alternative sources of funding.

De Groot said the only staff position that the RTA had identified to hire was a CEO. The application process would be closed and the interview phase would begin on Aug. 7, De Groot reported. But in the current budget model – which is only an expense budget, because the RTA has limited revenues – depletion of the RTA’s current funding would be somewhat quicker than what Griffith described. That expense budget would include office space rental, and salaries for about six employees total.

There are a lot of things that the RTA has to do which are identified in its expense budget, but the only source of revenue at this time is the initial $500,000, De Groot said. [$250,000, plus another $250,000 from MDOT.] The expense budget of the RTA, De Groot noted, did not include any kind of expenditure for a millage campaign or for a vehicle registration proposal, or for the work of combining the master plans for the region. De Groot indicated that the Federal Transit Administration might have some money available for the planning work – but that’s still uncertain.

Gillian Ream weighed in by saying it would be fantastic if alternative funding sources could be found. But she pointed out that there are overlaps between the priorities that the AAATA has identified for the RTA to work on, and its own work plan. So if there are things like doing research on traffic signal priorities, then the AAATA and the RTA should coordinate – especially if there’s funding that the RTA is receiving to do that kind of work.

Kerson addressed the idea that Griffith had raised about passing a resolution to express a position on the RTA’s administrative funding, saying he felt it should be framed as: “We think bus operating funds should be used to operate buses – whether in our community or other communities.” Kerson said he did not want to see the issue framed as: “Don’t take AAATA money” – adding that the AAATA should support other transit agencies in its resolution.

Broader Geography: Ypsilanti, Urban Core – Public Commentary

During the public commentary at the end of the meeting, Caroline Grawi of the Center for Independent Living addressed the board about the RTA. She agreed with Cooper about the funding issue, adding that she had spoken to both of Washtenaw County’s RTA board representatives [Richard Murphy and Liz Gerber] about that issue. She felt that because Gov. Rick Snyder lives in the Ann Arbor area, it should be possible to press the issue a little harder by saying: Hey, you wanted this to happen and now it’s happened, and now you need to make sure it’s funded.

Present: Charles Griffith, Eric Mahler, Susan Baskett, Eli Cooper, Sue Gott, Roger Kerson, Anya Dale. Also present: Gillian Ream.

Next regular meeting: Thursday, Aug. 15, 2013 at 6:30 p.m. at the Ann Arbor District Library, 343 S. Fifth Ave., Ann Arbor. [Check Chronicle event listings to confirm date.]

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Ypsilanti mayor Paul Schreiber addressed the AATA board at its May 16 meeting. (Photos by the writer.)

Ypsilanti mayor Paul Schreiber attended the meeting in support of the city’s request for membership, and the board unanimously passed a resolution acknowledging the request. The resolution also directed staff to prepare for a detailed discussion on the issue at the board’s planning retreat, scheduled for May 22. Board members were positively inclined toward the request, but wanted to be sure that due diligence is done to ensure all the implications are understood.

Because the addition of the city of Ypsilanti would require revision to the AATA’s articles of incorporation, there’s some interest by some board members in approaching the changes in a way that could accommodate the addition of more members than just the city of Ypsilanti. It’s possible that Ypsilanti Township, Pittsfield Township or other jurisdictions might request membership in the near future. A more comprehensive approach to revising the articles, or delaying until all jurisdictions are admitted to the AATA at one time, could eliminate the need to revise the articles multiple times in quick succession.

The possible membership of Ypsilanti in the AATA is part of an effort to continue working with “urban core” communities in the immediate Ann Arbor area – after a more ambitious effort to extend AATA governance and services countywide in the summer of 2012 failed to gain traction.

A revision to the articles of incorporation would likely include a change in the AATA board membership structure. Ann Arbor mayor John Hieftje had indicated he’d support adding two seats to the current seven-member board, with one of the two additional seats to be appointed by the city of Ypsilanti.

Related to board membership, the May 16 meeting included a resolution of appreciation for the service of Jesse Bernstein on the board. He concluded a five-year term of service in April. Susan Baskett, currently an AAPS trustee, has been nominated as his replacement on the board. If she’s confirmed at the Ann Arbor city council’s May 20 meeting, she’ll join Eric Mahler as another new appointment. Mahler’s appointment to replace David Nacht was subjected to political wrangling at the council’s May 13 session, but he was confirmed on a 7-4 vote.

Ypsilanti Membership in AATA

The board was asked to consider a formal resolution acknowledging a request from the city of Ypsilanti to join the AATA.

By way of background, at the Ypsilanti city council’s April 23 meeting, councilmembers had made a formal request to join the AATA under the transit authority’s existing enabling legislation – Act 55 of 1963. For the city of Ypsilanti, joining the AATA represents a new way to generate more funding for transportation. Because the city already levies property taxes at the state constitutional limit of 20 mills, the city itself can’t add an additional tax burden.

But the AATA could ask voters of all member jurisdictions to approve a levy of its own – something that it currently does not do. And that would not count against the 20-mill state constitutional limit that Ypsilanti already levies. The city of Ypsilanti and the city of Ann Arbor each have a millage dedicated to transit, which is not levied by the AATA itself.

Adding Ypsilanti to the AATA would also require the cooperation of the Ann Arbor city council – to amend the AATA’s articles of incorporation. At a meeting of the urban core communities held on April 25, 2013, Ann Arbor mayor John Hieftje indicated his support for the idea, suggesting that the seven-member AATA board could be expanded to nine seats, one of which would be appointed by the city of Ypsilanti.

Meetings among nearby surrounding jurisdictions – including the cities of Ypsilanti and Saline, and the townships of Ypsilanti and Pittsfield – have continued after the demise of an effort in 2012 to expand the AATA’s service and governance area to the entire county. The smaller group of government units has been presented with a set of increased services and various funding and governance options. Among those options is the possibility of Ypsilanti and other nearby jurisdictions joining the AATA.

At the May 7, 2013 meeting of the AATA board’s planning and development committee, a rough outline of possible steps toward Ypsilanti’s membership was discussed. From the committee minutes:

• Ypsilanti Mayor Paul Schreiber would meet with the Ann Arbor city council to discuss the request to join the Authority;
• AATA would then adopt a resolution supporting Ypsilanti’s request and send it to the Ann Arbor city council;
• The Articles of Incorporation would need to be modified to include Ypsilanti, and then be sent to City Council;
• AATA would then ask the City Council to approve and file the Articles of Incorporation.

Ypsilanti Membership in AATA: Mayor Schreiber

During the public commentary period at the start of the meeting, city of Ypsilanti mayor Paul Schreiber told the board he was there for a couple of reasons. First he noted that the Ypsilanti city council had unanimously passed a resolution requesting membership in the AATA. He appreciated the resolution on the AATA board’s agenda saying the AATA had received the request. There are a number of things that indicate Ypsilanti is very serious about being a partner in transit. The request for membership in the AATA is just one of those indications, he said.

What membership does for Ypsilanti is to make Ypsilanti a “player,” and what it does for the AATA board, he continued, is to give the AATA a stake in the eastern side of Washtenaw County. He noted that the AATA had been working hard over the last couple of years toward becoming more of a regional authority. Schreiber felt that Ypsilanti’s membership would be a small but solid step toward AATA being a regional authority. So he hoped that the AATA would accept the request for Ypsilanti’s membership. The diversification of the AATA with the addition of Ypsilanti, Schreiber said, will help “move the ball along” with other communities and really help create some momentum toward transit improvements.

Schreiber also noted that earlier that day, the Ypsilanti Downtown Development Authority board had passed a resolution allocating $20,000 to improvements at the Ypsilanti downtown transit center. Compared to the Ann Arbor DDA, he allowed, $20,000 might not seem like very much, but it’s 4% of the Ypsilanti DDA’s annual budget. That, along with the 3-to-1 margin of voter approval for Ypsilanti’s dedicated transit millage in 2010, were signs that Ypsilanti is very serious. He looked forward to working with the AATA board to make a stronger and more regional AATA.

Ypsilanti Membership in AATA: PDC Committee Response

In her report out from the planning and development committee, Sue Gott said the committee had discussed the Ypsilanti resolution. She felt she spoke for her colleagues when she said they were all pleased and felt positive about the resolution and moving in that direction. However, committee members wanted more information and background to make a careful fiduciary decision when it comes to proposing board action.

Ypsilanti Membership in AATA: CEO’s Response

During his report to the board, CEO Michael Ford thanked the Ypsilanti DDA for the $20,000 contribution to the Ypsilanti transit center and thanked Schreiber for Ypsilanti’s request to join the AATA. He noted that the governance committee of the AATA board had met to discuss Ypsilanti’s membership. He noted that there would be more discussion of that at the board’s retreat the following week, on May 22.

Ypsilanti Membership in AATA: Board Deliberations

Charles Griffith said that while the AATA is very interested in Ypsilanti’s membership and thinks very positively about it, there are still some questions that need to be addressed and talked about during the board retreat the following week. Griffith said the AATA also wants to have more discussion with other community partners who are in various stages of interest in terms of joining the AATA. [For example, Ypsilanti Township might be interested but township officials have indicated that the timing might not be right.] Griffith felt the resolution being considered by the board gave a good sense of the AATA’s interest and intent.

Ann Arbor Transportation Authority board member Roger Kerson.

Roger Kerson appreciated Schreiber and his colleagues putting the issue on the AATA’s agenda. Kerson called it reflective of the discussion over time – about how to expand the AATA’s service and how to meet the community’s needs of getting people to work, school and shopping areas. Kerson called the conversation about the addition of Ypsilanti consistent with the Ann Arbor city council mandate to continue the AATA’s discussion with surrounding communities.

Eli Cooper added his thanks to Schreiber and the Ypsilanti city council, and echoed what Griffith and Kerson had said. It’s important to note that “Travel does not respect jurisdictional boundaries,” he said. He said the consideration of adding Ypsilanti as a member was a giant step forward. The Ann Arbor area needs a strong transportation system and the idea of acknowledging the request and getting a better understanding of what it means to everyone is fundamentally important, he said. It’s important that as the AATA grows, it grows properly. Growth should take place with the right thought in mind and with the support of all involved parties, Cooper said. He’d be supporting the resolution and looked forward to the more detailed discussion that would follow. “It’s an exciting moment in time when we have a community wanting to join us and that we can make sure that we’re doing it in the best way possible,” Cooper concluded.

Outcome: The board voted unanimously to approve the resolution acknowledging the city of Ypsilanti’s request to join the AATA.

Ypsilanti Membership in AATA: Schreiber – Coda

Schreiber followed up with a turn at public commentary at the conclusion of the meeting, saying he appreciated the board’s unanimous support in acknowledgment of Ypsilanti’s request. He reiterated the point that Ypsilanti had pledged the full transit millage to the AATA, which voters passed by a 3-to-1 margin in 2010. There’s due diligence that needs to be done to determine what the future looks like with Ypsilanti as a member, he allowed. Schreiber thought that adding more transit will cause property values to go up, and therefore the revenue from Ypsilanti’s transit millage would increase.

Farewell to Bernstein

AATA board member Jesse Bernstein attended his final regular meeting of the board on April 18, 2013. At the May 16 meeting, his former board colleagues approved a resolution acknowledging his five-year term of service, which began on June 16, 2008. Bernstein was not able to attend the meeting.

The resolution of appreciation approved by the board highlighted Bernstein’s turn as chair of the board, chair of the performance monitoring and external relations committee, and the executive search committee that resulted in the hire of CEO Michael Ford. The resolution also called out his role in the development of the AATA’s transit master plan and his service as chair of the unincorporated Act 196 authority board, which was part of an effort that culminated in the incorporation of that authority as The Washtenaw Ride, in the summer of 2012.

The Washtenaw Ride was an effort that ultimately found almost no traction, as municipalities across the county exercised their right under Act 196 to opt out of the authority after it was incorporated. The city of Ann Arbor, which had been expected to lead the countywide effort, opted out at the Nov. 8, 2012 meeting of the city council. Since that time, a more limited geographic focus on the “urban core” communities has resulted in a formal request from the city of Ypsilanti to join the AATA.

Board chair Charles Griffith noted at the May 16 board meeting that Susan Baskett has been nominated by mayor John Hieftje as Bernstein’s replacement on the AATA board. Baskett currently serves on the board of the Ann Arbor Public Schools, an elected position. The city council will be asked to confirm Baskett’s appointment at its May 20 meeting.

It’s possible that her appointment could be subjected to debate by the council. On May 13, the council approved Eric Mahler as David Nacht’s replacement on the AATA board on a 7-4 vote. Compared to typical votes on appointments, which are often unanimous, Mahler’s appointment was confirmed by a relatively narrow margin. At the May 16 board meeting, Griffith noted that Mahler had been confirmed by the city council, but Griffith didn’t remark on the dissenting vote.

The reasons given by dissenters for voting against Mahler included the idea that it’s important to widen the pool of members across all city boards. Mahler is finishing his second three-year term on the city planning commission – but he will not continue in that role. Dissenters also alluded to an alternate candidate they felt could represent the disability community better than Mahler.

The alternate candidate, LuAnne Bullington, has been a vocal critic of the AATA’s efforts to develop regional rail connections. The council’s debate, however, seemed focused more on issues of board candidates’ status as minorities or members of the disability community. Mahler and Baskett are both African American. Bullington is visually impaired.

Mahler was not able to attend his first scheduled meeting on May 16 due to illness, according to AATA staff.

Farewell to Bernstein: Board Remarks

After reading aloud the resolution acknowledging Jesse Bernstein’s service, board chair Charles Griffith said he was sorry Bernstein couldn’t be there to hear it. Bernstein had really committed a lot to the AATA, he said. Griffith really appreciated Bernstein’s leadership and appreciated serving on the board with him.

Roger Kerson said he appreciated Bernstein’s leadership, guidance and wisdom. When he reported out from the performance monitoring and external relations committee earlier in the meeting, Kerson said he missed the other two committee members Jesse Bernstein and David Nacht, who have now left the board. He quipped that he hadn’t needed his referee’s whistle at the most recent committee meeting, which consisted only of himself.

Outcome: The board voted unanimously to approve the resolution of appreciation for Bernstein’s service.

Regional Transit Authority

The southeast Michigan regional transit authority (RTA), created at the end of 2012 during the lame duck session of the state legislature, was a topic that threaded through several points of the board’s discussion. The RTA includes Washtenaw, Wayne, Macomb and Oakland counties, and the city of Detroit.

RTA: Source of Funding – LBO

During his report to the board, CEO Michael Ford said that the committees of the newly formed regional transit authority (RTA) were now active. The AATA had a presence at all the committees. He said that the RTA’s budget and finance committee was considering use of the state’s local bus operating (LBO) assistance to fund the RTA’s administrative operations. The AATA had received written notice about that from the Michigan Dept. of Transportation (MDOT), which indicated that less than 2% of operating expenses for the region might be sought. On May 29, AATA would be appearing before that RTA committee to report how the RTA’s use of those LBO funds would affect AATA’s operations.

In his report from the performance monitoring and external relations committee, Roger Kerson noted that the RTA did need some kind of funding source. It’s still not clear how that’s going to work out. The AATA would continue to monitor whether the RTA would receive a small portion of what the AATA would ordinarily receive, and if that would wind up in the RTA’s coffers. He noted that it was important that the AATA is represented in all of the RTA’s committee structures.

Also during his report to the board, Ford said that language was being finalized in a state funding bill that would restore funding from the LBO that the AATA had lost last year, which had resulted in the AATA revising its budget to accommodate about $800,000 less in revenues. Ford said at the May 16 meeting that there’s currently a funding bill that would restore funding to the 30.6% level – which would return $800,000 to $900,000 to the AATA. It’s hoped that the bill would start to move through the legislature this week and that action would be taken on it before the recess in June, he said. [The AATA is currently maintaining slightly less than the 3-month operating reserve it's supposed to maintain. A recovery of $800,000 would bring those operating reserve levels back in line – the amount needed to conform with that policy is around $230,000.]

Eli Cooper observed that there was an ebb and flow of funding from the state. On the one hand, the AATA was hearing about the restoration of state funds from last year, but at the same time they were hearing that funds from that same funding source might be “re-guided” to the RTA. He wanted to know if the combined mathematics worked out as more for the AATA or less going forward.

AATA staff member Bill De Groot told Cooper that right now it’s difficult to say – given the difference in time between the approval of Gov. Rick Snyder’s budget and the RTA’s initial discussion. He said more would be known in the next two weeks.

Cooper observed that the AATA had tried to tighten its belt in order to provide service to the Ann Arbor community with the resources it has.

RTA: Commuter Express Service

Reporting out from the performance monitoring and external relations, Roger Kerson said the AATA is continuing to look at funding options for its commuter express services from Chelsea and Canton. The AATA does not want to continue to offer the service without additional financial support from the communities where the service is originating. Kerson reported that the AATA has heard from Canton that they’re not interested in participating. The service needs to be self-supporting rather than being subsidized by Ann Arbor taxpayers, Kerson said.

Eli Cooper linked the RTA issue with Kerson’s report about Canton, saying that the RTA had been designed as a way to support inter-community transportation. He asked that AATA staff inquire whether RTA were a resource available to assure that there’s a cost-competitive and proactive stance to moving people from one part of the region to another. As the RTA looks for things that it can do, the express commuter service is perhaps something it could do. The AATA’s operation of the service, he said, has a fare-box recovery ratio of about double what the regular fixed-route service has. He called it a difficult policy decision to put an increased burden on the backs of the ridership.

Ford assured Cooper that this kind of conversation with the RTA was high on the AATA staff’s agenda.

Sue Gott picked up on Cooper’s remarks by linking back to a request she’d made earlier in the meeting for a clearer understanding of staff work load. She contrasted staff time invested in transportation service versus administrative activity. What she was hearing indicated a lot of demand for administrative staff time with respect to the RTA. She was concerned about not redirecting valuable and precious staff time away from other important duties. Ford indicated that he thought it was appropriate for the AATA to be represented at all the RTA committee meetings, but would provide Gott with a more detailed breakdown.

RTA: Citizens Advisory Committee

Board chair Charles Griffith noted that the RTA’s citizens advisory committee is being formed and inquired if there were a list of possible candidates. Ford told Griffith that there was some kind of list.

Communications, Committees, CEO, Commentary

At its May 16 meeting, the AATA board entertained various communications, including its usual reports from the performance monitoring and external relations committee, the planning and development committee, as well as from CEO Michael Ford. The board also heard commentary from the public. Here are some highlights.

Comm/Comm: Board Retreat

During his report to the board, CEO Michael Ford highlighted the AATA board’s annual retreat, which will take place on May 22.

AATA board member Sue Gott and CEO Michael Ford talked before the start of the May 16, 2013 meeting.

That retreat will take place at 12:30-5 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Express (Gresham Room), 600 Briarwood Circle. Ford said he expected a “robust exchange” among board members. He asked everyone to be ready to start at 12:30 p.m.

In her report out from the planning and development committee, Sue Gott put forward the idea that part of the discussion during the board retreat should include workload projections and costs associated with various activities. She wanted to see several ways of balancing workload and priorities that staff could provide.

The planning and development committee had talked to the retreat facilitator about prioritizing 2014 initiatives – beginning with existing customers and customer experience. [The facilitator for the retreat is Julia Novak, who also performed that function at the Ann Arbor city council's December 2012 retreat.]

Comm/Comm: Next Urban Core Meeting

Ford described a successful meeting of the “urban core” on April 25. That had included discussion of the city of Ypsilanti’s request to become a member of the AATA. The next meeting of that urban core group will take place on June 27 at Pittsfield Township hall, starting at 4 p.m., Ford said.

Comm/Comm: Consolidation of Planning Project Meetings

Ford also noted that in April there had been a suggestion to try to combine some of the community meetings – to address some of the fatigue that people might be experiencing about attending meetings.

So on June 18, he said, a meeting with an open house format will be held from 5-8 p.m. at the downtown location of the Ann Arbor District Library covering several projects: the connector study (from US-23 and Plymouth, through downtown Ann Arbor, southward along State Street to I-94), WALLY (north-south commuter rail between Ann Arbor and Livingston County) and the ReImagine Washtenaw project (a planning focus on Washtenaw Avenue between Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti).

Ford also gave brief updates on each of those projects. The number of alternatives for the ReImagine Washtenaw project had been reduced from six to three, which would be presented on June 18. Ford also reported some renewed interest in WALLY from Livingston County officials. Station design work continues for that effort, he said.

Comm/Comm: AirRide

During his report to the board, Ford gave an update on AirRide. It’s a service the AATA contracts with Michigan Flyer to provide transportation between downtown Ann Arbor and Detroit Metro airport. For the week of April 28, Ford said 1,657 passengers had ridden the service, which was the second-highest ridership of any week since the service was launched a year ago.

Comm/Comm: Blake Transit Center Construction

Ford also gave an update on the construction of the new Blake Transit Center in downtown Ann Arbor, on the block between Fourth and Fifth avenues. The footings are done, with the next step being the foundation walls. Utility work on site has started, which has resulted in displacement of several buses from Fourth Avenue to Liberty. Ford expressed his appreciation for the collaboration of city of Ann Arbor, the Ann Arbor police department, the federal building, Ann Arbor District Library and the Ann Arbor DDA.

According to community relations manager Mary Stasiak, the basement of the building, which is now apparent on the site, will house a gray water cistern, boilers, and IT infrastructure.

Comm/Comm: New AATA Website

Ford reported that the AATA’s new website would go live on May 23.

Comm/Comm: Service Changes

Ford noted that input is being sought this month on service changes for some routes, with board action requested in June.

In his report out from the performance monitoring and external relations committee, Roger Kerson described the proposed service changes. For routes that are more congested, the intent is to make adjustments to make them faster. There’s a bus stop in the Briarwood Mall area that has to be changed. For Route 12B, the service is supposed to be spread out. The AATA is also looking at adjustments to NightRide, because it’s stretching capacity.

Comm/Comm: Finances

Kerson characterized the AATA’s finances as in good shape. Ridership is up and continues to increase, though not as much as in the previous year, which had been record-setting. Cash fares are over budget, he said. Costs for marketing and public relations are lower – because the costs associated with the urban core conversations are lower than what had been budgeted for a countywide initiative. Kerson ventured that the projected deficit may be whittled away.

Comm/Comm: Title VI

Jim Mogensen addressed the board at the second public commentary time of the meeting, speaking on the topic of Title VI.

Jim Mogensen addressed the AATA board on the topic of Title VI compliance.

He reminded board members that he’d talked to them over a long period of time about his concerns regarding Title VI. [At the March 21, 2013 board meeting, CEO Michael Ford had acknowledged that the AATA had been given a due date of Nov. 1, 2014 to submit documentation to the Federal Transit Administration to demonstrate compliance with Title VI – that there is no discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, low-income persons, or persons with limited English proficiency.]

Title VI needs to be a consideration as the AATA thinks about how to incorporate Ypsilanti into the AATA system. His position is that the fixed route system is the AATA’s system – not a system belonging to the various municipalities.

So the AATA needs to think that through. He held up a CD which he said was all the AATA route information in a computerized GIS format, and he noted that he had census data. He just wanted to let the board know that he’s really serious about the need for Title VI compliance.

Present: Charles Griffith, Eli Cooper, Sue Gott, Roger Kerson, Anya Dale.

Absent: Eric Mahler.

Next regular meeting: Thursday, June 20, 2013 at 6:30 p.m. at the Ann Arbor District Library, 343 S. Fifth Ave., Ann Arbor [Check Chronicle event listings to confirm date]

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Sec. 4A
(1) A county or a municipality may withdraw from an authority within 1 year after creation of that authority under this act by a resolution of withdrawal approved by a majority vote of the members elected to and serving on the governing body of that county or municipality.
(2) A county or a municipality may withdraw from an authority at any time after 1 year after creation of that authority under this act by a resolution of withdrawal approved by a 2/3 vote of the members elected to and serving on the governing body of that county or municipality.

The wording of the bill indicates that the opt-out option is available to more than just the four counties that are members of the RTA – Washtenaw, Wayne, Macomb and Oakland. Any municipality in that four-county region would appear to be able to opt out.

The Ann Arbor city council had passed a resolution shortly after the original enactment of the RTA bill, objecting to the inclusion of Washtenaw County. That council resolution echoed sentiments of a resolution approved shortly before that by the Washtenaw County board. And a resolution of the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority board, approved in February 2012, had supported the concept of an RTA, but conditioned that support on the coordination of new funding so that existing levels of transportation services provided by the AATA are maintained.

Rep. Jeff Irwin, whose 53rd District includes most of Ann Arbor, had opposed the RTA legislation. However, he does not support the idea incorporated into the current draft of HB 4637, which has been referred to the transportation committee. In an email to The Chronicle, responding to a query, Irwin wrote: “I don’t have a good sense of whether this will move.” But for his own part, he continued:

I don’t support this idea. The Swiss cheese model of public transit authorities is contrary to best practices and is intuitively a problem for the provider. SMART currently operates on the Swiss cheese model, driving through communities like Livonia and failing to serve citizens in communities like Canton. In short, the Balkanization of SE Michigan is a limitation, not a feature, of Michigan’s governance model. This bill moves further in that direction. Even though I opposed the RTA bill last winter because of the rail exclusion language and the mismatch of AATA with DDOT/SMART, I still want to have a functional system in SE Michigan. This bill will make that even more difficult.

The position expressed by the AATA is that the funding for any new RTA for southeast Michigan, described in legislation introduced in the state legislature in late January, should be supported with funds above and beyond the level expended by existing public transportation service. [For coverage of the proposed legislation, see "Michigan Regional Transit Bills Unveiled"] The legislation would create a four-county region for the RTA that would include Washtenaw, Wayne, Macomb and Oakland counties.

From the board’s resolution [emphasis added]: “In order to guarantee and assure the continuation of our role in providing local transit or existing services, funding for a southeast Michigan Regional Transit Authority must be new, additional funding so that the existing (and future state and federal funding) for the current Ann Arbor Transportation Authority Board, and any Board that supersedes it, will not be negatively impacted.” [.pdf of the draft resolution]

The language of the draft resolution was amended at the board meeting at the suggestion of Eli Cooper to stress the role of the AATA in its current provision of transportation services, and to condition the AATA’s support for an RTA at this time to an RTA that coordinates and connects existing services.

The RTA legislation as introduced would give two seats on a 10-member board to Washtenaw County – with two seats for each of the other three counties, one for Detroit, and one non-voting ex-officio appointment made by the governor.

However, according to a Michigan Information and Research Service (MIRS) summary of initial testimony on Feb. 14 before the Michigan senate’s transportation committee, Conan Smith – chair of the Washtenaw County board of commissioners – would be willing to give up one of those seats: “Washtenaw County Commissioner Conan Smith not only supported the bills, but expressed an openness to support giving up one of Washtenaw County’s appointments on the RTA to Detroit if ‘that’s what it took” to get the bills passed.’”

The possible RTA is a different initiative from the AATA’s effort to expand its governance structure and its service area to include a wider geographic region – most of Washtenaw County, not just the city of Ann Arbor. That possible transition is currently being debated by the Ann Arbor city council, in the context of a four-party agreement – between the city of Ann Arbor, the city of Ypsilanti, Washtenaw County and the AATA.

This brief was filed from the fourth-floor boardroom of the downtown Ann Arbor District Library, 343 S. Fifth Ave, where the AATA board holds its meetings. A more detailed report will follow: [link]